[JURIST] The US House Judiciary Committee [official website] has approved a bill to give the Supreme Court [official website] jurisdiction to review appeals of court-martial decisions. The proposed legislation, known as the Equal Justice for Our Military Act of 2009 [HR 569 text], would modify the high court's jurisdiction so that service members could petition for review if the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces [official website] declines to review the court-martial decision. Current law permits appeal to the Supreme Court only if the case has been heard by the Court of Appeals. The bill is sponsored by Susan Davis (D-CA) [official website], who testified [press release] before the committee:

It is unjust to deny members of our Armed Forces access to our system of justice as they fight to preserve this very system. Under current law, members of the military who are convicted of offenses under the military justice system do not have the legal right to appeal their cases to the U.S. Supreme Court.